Full Circle at Half-Circle
by PerneseRider01
Summary: When Yanus Sea Holder, leader of Half-Circle Sea Hold, suffers a serious heart attack while out at sea, how will his long-lost daughter, Menolly, now a Masterharper at the Harper Hall, respond to the news? What will she choose to do?


F ull Circle at Half-Circle

Inspired by Anne McCaffrey and The Dragonriders of Pern

Thread had fallen just the other day over a wide section of the Southern Sea due south of Nerat Hold. Now the fleet from Half-Circle was busy scouring those waters for the fish that typically rose to the surface to feed on the drowned Thread.

Aboard the lead vessel, "Master Of The Deep", Yanus, Sea Holder of Half-Circle Sea Hold, and his son, Alemi, Master Fisher from Paradise River Sea Hold, were hard at work. A recent storm had left several of Half-Circle's more capable sailors down with injuries, so Alemi was manning the helm while his father was on deck directing the activities of the crew. The Sea Holder's craft was modeled after an old Earth vessel called a Brixham Trawler… a sail-powered ship that deployed a beam trawler off the port side of the vessel.

"Avast!" Yanus bellowed, his face red with the force of his cry. "Mind the tension on that beam line!"

He had been standing at the bow, guiding his ship through the Southern Sea while searching for the elusive shipfish. Yanus scratched his sun-blasted scalp trying to recall… what was that Ancients' word?

Dolphins! Ay, that was it! Brought from the Ancients' home world, their intellect artificially enhanced through the mentasynth process, the creatures had proven their worth helping the survivors of the first Threadfall escape to the safety of rock in the north. These days, the finny beasts invariably showed up after a Fall, dining on the fish that rose to feed on the drowned Thread. If you were lucky enough to spot them, they led you unerringly to where the best fishing was to be had!

Still, there **was** one thing that puzzled the Sea Holder. In all his Turns of sailing these waters, he'd never heard them speaking to humans as had been recently reported by Master Idarolan. The Dolphineer, Master Readis, happily confirmed the ability to anyone who asked. Even his son, Alemi… had reported the astonishing ability. Whatever. Yanus' only concern, at the moment, was finding the fish. Now if he could only do something about the tightness in his chest.

"Bad! Bad! Bad!" someone called out.

"What's that, 'Lem?" Yanus wondered, turning to his son. "What's bad? Weather turning?"

"What are you on about?" Alemi responded, gesturing to the heavens. "Skies are clear!"

"Could'a sworn…"

"Heart! Heart! Heart!"

That voice again! Yanus whirled, searching the deck. No one was near. Or so he thought. The shipfish… dolphins… were, one keeping pace with their vessel… and it seemed to be looking straight at him!

"Heart bad!" Yanus gasped, staring wide-eyed in wonder at this dolphin, bobbing up and down in the water. And it was speaking… to him! "Heart bad! Bad! Bad! Bad!"

Stunned to hear what he had so easily dismissed, Yanus could only stare back in amazement. With the next gust of wind, the weight of Belior landed right on his chest! At least, that's what it felt like as Yanus collapsed to the deck, clutching his chest, finding it difficult to even draw a breath!

"Skipper!" one of the sailors cried in alarm, others running forward to the fallen Sea Holder.

"Kantu, take the helm!" Alemi ordered, sprinting forward. To the rest of the crew, he bellowed, "Reef the sails! Drop the sea anchor! All stop!"

The deckhands responded… some of them releasing the ropes on the sails, allowing them to flap freely in the breeze. Others heaved the sea anchor overboard, helping to slow the ship.

"Da!" Alemi exclaimed, dropping to the deck next to his father. "What's wrong?"

"Can't breathe!" Yanus gasped, still clutching his chest. "Hurts!"

"Damn it!" Alemi cursed under his breath.

He'd seen the warning signs back on shore before they had set sail but foolishly had chosen to ignore them. Alemi just couldn't see how his father, Yanus Sea Holder, stubborn and taciturn as a barnacle, could succumb to something like this.

"His heart?" one of the worried crew asked.

Alemi nodded. "And we're days away from any healers!"

"I get help!" a strange voice offered.

"Alemi, look!" another crew exclaimed, pointing over the railing to the water beyond.

Yanus' son rose, glancing in the direction indicated. He gasped, spotting a pod of dolphins nearby, one practically rising up out of the water as it swished its tail powerfully to and fro.

"I get help!" the dolphin repeated, nodding her melon. "Loki get help fast, fast, fast!"

Loki! One of the dolphins that were part of the pod operating out of Robinton Cove, Alemi realized… where the Masterhealer's teaching hospital was located!

"We need a healer, fast as you can swim!" Alemi shouted, pointing off in the direction of the Cove. "Hurry!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" the dolphin named Loki repeated before diving. Moments later, she returned, seemingly pleased with herself. "Message sent!"

"How could you possibly…" Alemi stammered, staring at the dolphin.

"Sound underwater!" Loki explained, nodding. "Travels fast! Faster than in air. Farther than in air! Others pick up sound. Relay it further. Relay it to hospital."

"Message drums!" Alemi gasped, slapping the railing he was leaning on. "Just like message drums!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Loki responded, pumping her melon up and down in a vigorous nod. "You see! Help come soon!"

In all his years of sailing, Alemi had never heard such a thing before. And yet, it made sense! He'd heard the stories about how some of the sea mammals used sound to communicate with each other… how that sound could reach for miles underwater, much farther than even drum towers could. But would the message reach its target in time?

At that moment, unaware of what was transpiring to the north of the Cove, my satellite phone rang. "Dana here!"

"It's Readis, Dana," I heard. "Sorry to bother you but we have an emergency at sea."

"I'm listening," I responded, grabbing a sheet of paper and a pencil.

"I've got a report from the dolphins in my pod that there's trouble aboard the 'Master Of The Deep'," Readis relayed, his tone urgent. "Someone aboard is having a heart attack!"

"Where's the vessel's port of origin?"

"Half-Circle Sea Hold. It's Sea Holder Yanus' vessel."

"Do we have a fix on its location?" Readis gave me the coordinates.

"I think some of the dolphins from your pod are there," Readis reported. "Loki gave the alert!"

"Thanks for the call, Dolphineer!" I said, smiling to myself. "I'm heading out now. Later!"

Clipping the phone to my belt, I grabbed my emergency pack off the peg by the door and raced out to where Tarnaa was patiently waiting, her foreleg already extended to me.

"Dana, what's up?" Audiva, journeywoman Harper turned healer, wondered as she came running up.

"Yanus Sea Holder is having a heart attack aboard his vessel," I replied as I cinched down my riding belt. "Get the E.R. prepped and standing by!"

"On it!" she acknowledged, taking off at a run. "Be careful!"

"Let's go, my heart," I urged, patting my dragon's neck even as Goldie hurriedly back-winged to my shoulder, whipping her tail about my neck to lock herself down.

A couple of quick strides to gain momentum, Tarnaa leapt skyward, her powerful wings carrying us higher and higher. Seconds later, we winked _between_.

Back out at the distressed Half-Circle vessel, Alemi and other members of the crew had gingerly carried Yanus back to his cabin, making him as comfortable as possible in his bunk.

"I'm no healer, Alemi," one of the crew whispered, laying his hand on Yanus' son's shoulder, "but he needs help… and fast!"

"Then let's sincerely hope the dolphins can do what they promised," Alemi sighed, shaking his head.

Just then, they all heard, "Ahoy, Alemi! Dragon sighted! Approaching fast!"

Rushing out on deck, Alemi glanced up to the crow's nest. The mate on duty was pointing excitedly off to the south.

"Queen dragon! Biggun! Coming fast!" the mate bellowed.

"The Cove!" Alemi gasped, recognizing the dragon. "It's the Masterhealer from Robinton Cove!"

Without a word from me, Tarnaa settled into the sea a short distance from the distressed Half-Circle vessel, Goldie taking flight as we landed. Unbuckling my riding belt, I dove off into the water, picking up an instant assist from dolphin Loki.

"Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!" she squealed, pumping her tail fluke for all it was worth.

As we approached the side of Master Of The Deep, Loki dove while I grabbed hold of the boarding ladder slung over the vessel's bulwark. With many hands from the crew, I was easily hefted over the rail, Goldie calling out anxiously as she circled above.

"Shards, are we glad you got our message!" Alemi greeted me, shaking my hand and taking my healing pack. "This way!"

"How's he doing?" I asked, following Alemi aft.

"Not good," the Half-Circle fisherman grunted, yanking the cabin door open. "He was on deck as we were getting ready to haul in the nets. All of a sudden, he grabs his chest and collapses!"

"Any family history of heart troubles?" I wondered, taking the pack from Alemi.

"None," he replied, stepping up to the captain's bunk. "Da? The healer's here."

"Infernal fuss," Yanus grumbled, grimacing against the pain, sweat trickling down his pale face.

Opening my pack, I set it on the floor next to the bed. From inside, I pulled out a small oxygen tank and accompanying mask. Cracking the valve open, I set the tank beside the Sea Holder then slipped the mask over his mouth and nose.

"It'll help you breathe easier," I cautioned, pushing his hands away as he tried to remove the mask. "Now lie still."

Reaching once more into my pack, I pulled out the portable med scanner I had recently retrieved from the Yokohama's med bay. Switching it on, I began a thorough scan of my patient.

"What is that?" Alemi wondered, peering past my shoulder.

"Med scanner," I replied, tweaking the controls as I continued to gather data. "One of the Ancients' devices. It gives me the ability to more precisely diagnose a patient's medical condition."

"AIVAS?"

"No," I spoke, closing the device. "I retrieved it from the med bay of the Yokohama."

Glancing up at Yanus' son, I nodded for him to follow me back out on deck.

"What's wrong?" Alemi demanded, seizing my arm as we emerged from the cabin.

"He's in a bad way, Alemi," I sighed, laying my hand over his. "He's suffered a heart attack as well as a ruptured heart artery."

"What?!" the Half-Circle fisherman gasped, turning pale.

"He's bleeding internally," I went on, shaking my head. "We'd never reach Robinton Cove in time sailing there."

"But your dragon!" Alemi protested, seizing my arm in a painful grip as he pointed to Tarnaa patiently floating nearby.

"He's too fragile right now to survive a dragon lift," I argued, shaking my head.

The pained look on Alemi's face as he glanced back at the cabin nearly crushed my heart.

"There is one thing I can try," I quietly spoke, locking eyes with Yanus' son. "But it's not without risk. In his current condition, it might kill him."

"He'll die anyway if you don't try," Alemi muttered, searching my face for any sort of help… or hope.

With a quiet sigh, I nodded. "Leave someone in command. You're coming with me."

With a brief hand signal, the deed was done, and Alemi followed me back into the captain's cabin.

Pulling my satphone out, I dialed up the teaching hospital.

"Robinton Cove, Audiva here," the Healer journeywoman responded.

"Audiva, it's Dana," I responded. "I have a Code Red emergency. Clear the landing platform, stat!"

"On it!" she immediately responded before signing off.

"Wrap that blanket around him," I said, stuffing the phone back in my pack before slinging the pack over my shoulders.

But Yanus didn't want to cooperate, trying to push the blanket off him. No time left. Seizing Yanus by one hand and Alemi by the other, we vanished _between_ , emerging seconds later on the teaching hospital's special landing pad designed specifically for my unique abilities.

"Crackdust!" Alemi gasped, staring around him. "How did we…"

Many hands rushed in, lifting Yanus gingerly up onto the stretcher before hustling him inside, me in close pursuit, Alemi following. The med techs were just shifting Yanus to the med bed as I set my pack on a nearby table.

"He's a little chilled," Audiva reported, pulling a heating blanket up over Yanus, "but not by much." Turning to me, she asked, "Why'd you 'port him in?"

"That," I answered, pointing to an alert screen to the left of the main vitals display. "Signs of a heart attack and an aortic aneurysm with rupture."

"Shells!" one of the other healers hissed. "He'd've never survived a dragon lift like that!"

"And he'd've bled out before reaching us if they'd tried to sail here," I sighed, checking the oxygen mask on Yanus. "There was no other choice."

"Wait a sec!" Alemi gasped, seizing me by the arm. "The cold! The darkness! We went _between_?!"

Meeting his gaze, I nodded.

"But… how?"

All I did in reply was to point to my eyes.

At first, Yanus' son looked confused, but then he gasped, his own eyes growing positively enormous in his face. "By the First Egg, you can go _between_?! Just like a dragon?!"

My answer was a simple, silent nod.

"Shards and shells!" Alemi whispered, staring at me.

Dragon cries out in the Cove let me know that Tarnaa had returned.

 _How is the human?_ she solicitously inquired, images from her broadcast thoughts letting me know she had settled on the patio just outside.

 _Not good_ , I silently replied, adding a mental caress in apology. _Sorry I had to leave you behind._

 _You did what you had to do,_ Tarnaa assured me, love in every thought, _just as you have always done since you came to Pern._

Giving my golden lifemate another loving mental caress, I turned my attention to my patient.

"His wife should be here," I absently remarked, checking some of Yanus' biomed readings. "And your sister."

"Not likely," Alemi grunted, glancing briefly at his father.

The anger in Yanus' son's voice made me look up.

"Mavi might be persuaded," Alemi muttered, shaking his head. "But Menolly…"

"He might die, Alemi. She should…"

"She won't come. Not after what they did to her."

Judging by the grim set of Alemi's features and his angry posture, whatever had happened to Menolly in the past must've been serious.

"Mavi won't come," Yanus grunted, drawing our attention.

"Why not?" I asked, coming up beside him.

"She's terrified of dying," Alemi responded. "She wouldn't even go to her own parents' funerals because of it."

"I see," I sighed, glancing from one Sea Holder to the other. "And now she's living a life filled with regrets because of it."

Yanus nodded, heaving a heavy sigh.

"And Menolly?" I wondered, glancing from father to son. "What's her story?"

Alemi turned away, not meeting my gaze.

"Drove her from us," Yanus responded, a tear sliding down his weathered cheek.

"Why?" I asked, glancing back and forth between the two Half-Circle holders.

"Her gift of music," Alemi muttered, anger in his eyes as he looked at me.

"Explain," I demanded, meeting his gaze.

"We were afraid," Yanus sighed, more tears falling. "Afraid she'd disgrace the Hold."

"How could she possibly do that?!" I spluttered.

"Because girls couldn't be harpers," Alemi muttered, shaking his head. "That's what he and Mavi always believed. When old Petiron passed away Turns ago, the only person who could keep the young up in their Teachings was my sister."

"Menolly," I concluded.

Alemi nodded. "They were afraid that if the Harper Hall found out that a mere girl was doing the teaching, it would disgrace the Hold."

"You've got to be kidding!" I exclaimed, backing up a step in surprise.

Alemi shook his head. "When the new Harper finally came…"

"Elgion."

Alemi nodded. "They did everything they could to prevent him from finding out it had been Menolly… even to letting her hand heal wrong after she had sliced it open gutting packtail."

"Ancestors!" I hissed, appalled by what I was hearing.

"And now she's a Masterharper," Yanus croaked, tears running unchecked.

"How did you…" Alemi gasped.

"Fisherfolk talk," Yanus chuckled. "I've known for many Turns now. Oh, 'Nolly!"

"I'll talk to her," I said to both Half-Circle fishermen. "She needs to hear this."

The beeping of the med scanners faded behind me as I headed out to my dragon.

"Think you can find her, my heart?" I asked, thumping Tarnaa on the neck as Goldie landed on my shoulder.

 _The fire lizards know where she is_ , my dragon replied, thrumming quietly.

"Then let's do this," I said, climbing her proffered foreleg and belting myself into place.

Goldie wasn't worried, trilling sweetly as she headstroked my cheek.

A couple of quick strides to gain speed, Tarnaa leapt skyward, her great gossamer wings carrying us higher and higher. Seconds later, our trio vanished _between_.

Black, blacker, blackest…

And cold beyond frozen things…

Where is _between_ when there is naught…

To Life but fragile dragon wings?

In the time it took to recite those lines from one of the Teaching Ballads, we appeared above the Harper Hall.

 _Hail, friend Dana!_ a familiar blue dragon greeted as we slowly circled.

Serith! First dragon that I had ever tried to speak to. A very special friend, indeed!

 _Does anyone besides you two do Thread watch at Fort?_ I asked, a chuckle filtering through. Then, more seriously, I added, _I need to find Menolly._

A short pause, then Serith replied, _The little ones say she's in the Hall_.

 _Thanks, Serith,_ I told my blue friend. _And my thanks to your rider!_

Tarnaa quickly landed in the Harper Hall courtyard, allowing me to dismount.

 _Beauty is showing her human in a long space filled with lots of other humans,_ Tarnaa reported, Goldie chirping in my ear.

 _Show me,_ I replied.

Tarnaa's mental image flashed into my mind. It was the dining hall, the same one I had guided T'ledon's blue Serith into during that fateful Fall.

"Thanks, my heart," I spoke, giving her a loving pat on the neck. "Wait here."

I took off at a run, Goldie winging along ahead of me. Up the steps of the main entrance then left into the dining hall. It was the midday meal, the room abuzz with activity from all the diners. Goldie swooped low over their heads, making a few duck out of the way before she landed on the table in front of Menolly sitting at the Masters table.

"Dana!" she exclaimed, startled yet pleased to see me. "How goes the hospital?"

I didn't waste any time. "We need to talk."

"What's wrong?" she asked, noting the seriousness of my expression.

"Your father's had a heart attack," I explained, leaning on the table. "And a ruptured aneurysm of the heart."

"What?!" Oldive exclaimed, a few seats to Menolly's right. "How bad?"

"He's bleeding internally," I reported. "If nothing's done to repair the damage, he'll die in a few hours."

"Can you save him?" Oldive asked.

"She can," I replied, looking directly at Menolly.

"Me?!" she spluttered, staring at me. "I'm no healer! How could I help?"

"By giving him a reason to live," I replied, my expression earnest. "Talk to him, Menolly. Please."

"Do you know what he did to me?!" Menolly exploded, rising from her seat. Holding up her scarred hand, she added, "What they did to me?!"

"Yes," I replied, meeting her furious gaze, "and it's tearing him up inside."

"Good!" Menolly cursed, emphasizing her opinion with a cutting motion of her hand. "Then he finally understands how I felt!"

"And if he dies?"

"He dies. End of story."

"Menolly!" Sebell whispered, trying to comfort his wife, but she shrugged him off.

"Then you will end up just like your mother," I said, my expression grim.

"I am nothing like my mother!" Menolly raged, once more holding up her scarred palm.

"You will be."

"What are you ranting about?"

"Your mother, Mavi, is afraid of dying," I explained, looking straight at Menolly. "So afraid, in fact, that she never went to her parents' funerals. Now she is living a life of regrets… for words never spoken, comfort never offered, forgiveness never sought or given."

Menolly turned away, not meeting my gaze.

"Are you certain that's the life you want?" I asked as I made ready to leave. "Choose carefully, Masterharper. It is a decision you will have to live with the rest of your life."

Without another word, I turned and left the quiet as a tomb dining hall, Goldie winging along beside me.

 _Will she come?_ Tarnaa asked as I climbed up her foreleg.

 _I hope so, my heart,_ I replied, thumping her neck as I hooked in my riding belt.

Trilling sadly, Goldie landed on my shoulder, wrapping her tail about my neck even as she head-stroked my cheek. Then, the three of us were a-wing, heading back to Robinton Cove. I found Alemi right where I had left him, standing next to his suffering father.

"Did you speak with her?" he asked, not looking my way.

"Yes," I replied, stepping up to the other side of the med bed.

"She's not coming, is she?" Yanus grunted, eyes closed.

"Whether she comes or not is her choice," I replied, double-checking the med scanner readings. "One she will have to live with the rest of her life."

"Don't blame her, 'Lem," Yanus told his son. "Your Ma and I… we drove her away."

Several moments passed in silence. Then, behind me, I heard a quiet rustle of clothes. Yanus must've heard it, too, opening his eyes and turning my way.

"Masterharper…" he grunted, even that effort causing some pain.

"Sea Holder…" Menolly replied, stepping up beside me.

Standing in the doorway to the med bay,I spotted T'ledon, Serith's rider, not saying a word so he wouldn't intrude on this critical moment.

 _My thanks, friend Serith,_ I soundlessly broadcast, smiling and nodding, _to you and your rider!_

 _She came running out of the Hall seconds after you left,_ Serith reported, T'ledon smiling and nodding confirmation, _begging for help_.

 _I'm glad you two were there,_ I wordlessly replied. _Thank you both!_

Seconds later, Menolly's fair put in an appearance, but a quiet trill from Goldie, reinforced by my dragon's imperative, had them settled in place without so much as a peep; her own queen, Beauty, backwinging to Menolly's shoulder.

The rustling sound of the blanket brought my attention back as the Half-Circle Sea Holder shifted his position on the med bed.

"So," Yanus muttered, his expression drawn and haggard, "even after all this time, you still hate me."

Menolly didn't respond; just crossed her arms and briefly looked away, Beauty quietly head-stroking her cheek.

"And I've no one but myself to blame," Yanus sighed, closing his eyes.

Glancing over at Menolly, I saw her slowly lower her arms, her expression hinting at her confusion. Alemi came and stood by his sister, gently laying his caring hand on her shoulder. He nodded to her, not saying a word.

"Blind, I was," Yanus grunted, his breathing a little difficult. "Too damned hidebound to the old ways. Afraid that you… would disgrace the Hold!"

Menolly tensed, her anger flaring, but Alemi's squeeze of her shoulder and a brief shake of his head cooled the fire.

"Harper Elgion reported you'd been rescued by a dragon from Benden Weyr," Yanus continued, eyes still closed.

"Trying to reach shelter after foolishly being caught outside during a Fall," Menolly whispered, tears forming in her eyes as she gave Beauty's eye ridge a scratch.

"Proper Weyr Benden," Yanus acknowledged.

"That's where Master Robinton found her following the Hatching," Alemi added. "Bade her come with him to the Harper Hall."

"And I went gladly," Menolly wept, her fair quietly chirping in accord.

"Fancied your twiddles, did he?" Yanus chuckled, a slight smile on his face. "Smart man, Robinton. Damned good harper."

Turning his face our way, his eyes on his daughter, he added, "I'm glad he found you, 'Nolly."

Tears falling, Menolly moved closer, taking her father's hand in hers.

"Heard you made harper journeywoman only a week after you got to the Hall!" Yanus chuckled, giving his daughter's hand a squeeze. "In spite of all your fire lizards!"

More tears falling, a quiet smile on her lips, Menolly nodded, returning the squeeze.

"Now look at you!" Yanus beamed, smiling as he laid his weather-worn, calloused hand ever so gently against his daughter's tear-stained cheek. "A Masterharper! You do this poor, sun-blasted piece of storm flotsam proud!"

"Papa!" Menolly sobbed, hugging his hand to her cheek.

"And here I was worried about **you** disgracing the Hold!" Yanus chuckled, kissing Menolly's hand. "Only one who did, girl, was me."

"Oh, Papa, that's not true," Menolly softly spoke, sniffling back tears. "You always had Half-Circle's best interests in mind!"

"She's right, Captain," I spoke up. "Your leadership kept your Hold going and profitable, even with Thread falling!"

"Dana's right, Da," Alemi chimed in, joining his sister.

Looking squarely at his daughter, Yanus muttered, "You have every right to be mad at me, girl. I don't expect forgiveness… nor do I deserve it… not after what I did to you."

Planting a kiss lightly on her father's forehead, Menolly whispered, "But I do forgive you, Papa."

"Why?" Yanus begged, startled by her calm remark.

"All I ever wanted was for you to be proud of me," his daughter replied, hugging him about the neck. "And now you are!"

"Fit to busting, I am!" Yanus wept, returning the hug.

Her fair quietly took wing, circling the two, trilling sweetly their joy.

Pulling back from her father, Menolly turned to me, asking, "Can you help him?"  
"No, no help," Yanus argued, shaking his head.

Alemi and Menolly both gasped.

"Papa, why?" Menolly begged, nearly crushing her father's hand with her plea.

"I've had a good, long life, 'Nolly," he quietly told her. "Only thing that kept me going was the hope that I could one day make peace with you for what I did. I've done that now, so I can die a happy man!"

"But I don't want you to!" Menolly wailed, clutching his hand tightly to her bosom. "Not now that I finally have you back! Papa, please!"

Menolly's fire lizards responded to her distress, their cries changing from happy to worried.

"How long does he have?" Alemi asked, turning to me.

"Given his current rate of bleeding," I reported after checking the readouts of the med scanner, "an hour… maybe two."

"You have to save him!" Menolly cried, her gaze never leaving her father.

"She's right, you know," I said, coming up behind Menolly. "You haven't had a chance yet to hear your Masterharper daughter sing 'Keymon's Song!'"

"Please, Da," Alemi begged, taking his father's other hand. "Let Dana help you!"

Menolly's fire lizards even hovered over the med bed, calling out encouragement to the Sea Holder.

Glancing around him, Yanus chuckled, saying, "Well, I can't fight all of you!"

"Papa!" Menolly sobbed, throwing her arms around his neck in a tearful hug, her fair swirling about the room in a happy chorus.

"Besides," he added, lifting her chin so she'd look at him, "I always did like your singing, 'Nolly."

Turning to me, he grunted, "Alright, Masterhealer, I'm in your hands. Let's see just how good you really are!"

"A challenge!" I replied, grinning from ear to ear as I shook Yanus' hand. "I accept!"

A broad grin on my face, I nodded my thanks to T'ledon. With a jaunty salute, a smile, and a wink, Serith's rider quietly departed.

Now all those technomeds I had brought down from the med bay of the Yokohama were going to pay off big time! With my surgical skills and all that sophisticated healing equipment, I had the damage to Yanus Sea Holder's heart completely repaired and even strengthened in less than an hour… just in case he entertained the insane notion of returning to the sea! Somehow, I had a feeling he would!

A week after the surgery, the technomeds pronounced Yanus fit to be discharged. Master Idarolan himself brought his own vessel, The Dawn Sisters, to Robinton Cove to ferry the Sea Holder back to his seaside home.

The entire Half-Circle fleet turned out to welcome Yanus home, cheers and hurrahs echoing across the waters of the great docking cavern as The Dawn Sisters glided easily up to the dock.

Menolly helped her father down the gangway onto the dock, her fair of fire lizards swirling about them, the rest of the Hold cheering with great enthusiasm the moment Yanus set foot on solid ground again!

"Menolly?!"

Yanus and his daughter both turned at the sound of Mavi's astonished voice.

"Aye," Yanus quietly spoke, giving his daughter a gentle hug. "Back after Turns away from home."

Facing the gathered crowd, the Sea Holder raised his hands skyward, shouting, "Those little twiddles that everyone has been singing were written by Menolly… now a Masterharper at the Harper Hall!"

His pronouncement was met with stunned silence… followed a heartbeat later by deafening cheers and applause from the gathered crowd.

"Elgion!" Yanus bellowed a second time.

"Here, my Lord," the Half-Circle harper acknowledged, stepping through the throng.

"How far have Menolly's twiddles spread?" Yanus demanded, fists on hips.

"Across the entire planet, Lord," Elgion responded, grinning from ear-to-ear. "In all these Turns since Menolly left Half-Circle, your daughter has brought nothing but honor to her craft and Hall!"

The gathered Half-Circle holders gasped, staring in awe at Menolly, her swirling fair of fire lizards caroling with pride.

In that relatively quiet moment, Yanus turned to his daughter. Taking her hands in his, he softly told her, "One day, I hope we all prove worthy of that honor, daughter."

Smiling up at him, Menolly planted a gentle kiss on his sun-baked cheek before wrapping her father in a gentle hug, her head resting on his shoulder.

"Menolly, I…"

At the sound of her mother's voice, Yanus' daughter released her father and turned. There was no mistaking the pain on Mavi's face… of heart-rending embarrassment and abject regret for actions in the past. A tear sliding down her cheek, Menolly wrapped her arms around her mother, hugging her gently, the fair of fire lizards caroling joyously as they continued to swirl in the air above mother and daughter.

"How can you forgive me?" Mavi sobbed, clutching her daughter tightly. "After what I…"

"Ssshh!" Menolly replied, pulling back to look at her mother. "You forget. We sea holders are a sturdy lot, taciturn and stubborn as barnacles. I got that strength of spirit from the two of you!"

"And was that same strength what you used on Benis?" Yanus remarked, joining the women.

Menolly gasped, blushing at that reminder of the brawl during the Gather at Fort Hold. "How did you…"

"Find out?" Yanus chuckled, embracing wife and daughter. "Fisherfolk do a lot of talking out at sea. Also got word from that tanner journeyman about what happened." Smiling broadly at his daughter, he winked, adding, "Wish I'd been there to see that snot put in his place!"

Laughing freely, Menolly hugged her father.

"You stood up for yourself, girl," Yanus told her, a broad smile on his face, "defended your honor!"

"Mother?" Menolly prodded, seeing the pained look on Mavi's face.

"We never understood what was in you," Mavi confessed, eyes on the ground in front of her. "Even after you tried repeatedly to explain it to us."

A tear sliding down her cheek, Menolly reached out, taking her mother's hand.

"We were so blind," Mavi sobbed, not meeting her daughter's gaze. "Tried to force you to our way of thinking… and only succeeded in driving you away!"

More tears falling, Menolly gave her mother's hand a reassuring squeeze.

"So worried that you would disgrace the Hold," Mavi wept, finally meeting her daughter's eyes, "that we never realized we were the source of our Hold's disgrace, driving you away from home and family!"

Menolly faced her mother, taking both of Mavi's hands. Tears poured down both of their faces as they looked at each other.

"How can you bear to look at me," Mavi croaked, rivers of tears running down her face, "after what I did to you?"

"Because…" Menolly replied, giving her mother a brief hug before pulling back to once more look at her, "I see in your eyes the same thing I saw in Papa's."

Confused, Mavi could only shake her head, not uttering a sound.

"You are proud of me," Menolly responded, squeezing her mother's hands tightly in support, "and that's all I ever wanted you to be!"

"Menolly!" Mavi cried, hugging her daughter tightly, trembling with the power of the emotions running through her.

For nearly five minutes, the two women just stood there, hugging each other, their tears mingling together. Yanus quietly joined them, turning it into a three-way hug fest! Soon, other residents of Half-Circle joined the threesome, the love they all shared plain to see.

Eventually, Menolly emerged from the group, coming over to give me a very warm, heartfelt hug. "Thank you!"

"For what?" I asked, pulling back to look at her, Menolly's fair of fire lizards swirling in a dizzying display around us.

"For slapping some sense into this stubborn head of mine!" Menolly laughed, adding another hug even as Beauty landed on her shoulder, Goldie on mine.

"I'm a healer," I chuckled, squeezing her hands in support. "It's what I do! Now, go! Your family needs you!"

Smiling her thanks, Menolly ran back to the arms of her family and friends from Half-Circle, her fire lizards filling the air with happy cries!

A month later, Menolly and I both returned to Half-Circle Sea Hold, accompanied by a large contingent of musicians and singers from the Harper Hall. We were there to put on a performance to celebrate the Sea Holder's full recovery and to give him a chance to finally hear his daughter perform "Keymon's Song."

As it happened, there was Threadfall the day of the performance, so there were plenty of dragons on hand once the Fall had passed.

I led off, singing the opening verse of "Keymon's Song" as the musicians from the Harper Hall played the melody. Menolly joined her voice to mine for the second verse, earning first a startled gasp then a pleased smile from Yanus. The chorus of harpers came in on the third verse, drawing "Ooohs" and "Ahhhs" from those in attendance. The look on the Sea Holder's face and that of his wife was priceless when Menolly's fire lizards and my queen, Goldie, joined in on the fourth verse, triggering the dreamlike state the song produces. But nothing could match the looks of thunderstruck astonishment on Yanus' and Mavi's faces as the dragons lent their voices to the song on the final verse, the sound resonating throughout the echoing docking cavern of Half-Circle Sea Hold!

"I never get tired of hearing that song!" Menolly sighed, linking hands with me as we bowed to the thunderously applauding crowd.

"Me, either," I quietly replied, waving to the boisterous attendees. Turning to Menolly, I asked, "Ready?"

Smiling, she nodded, the fire lizards swirling about the two of us.

"I have one final gift to celebrate your recovery, Papa," Menolly said as she and I approached the Sea Holder and his wife. "Well, two gifts, actually."

That's when Yanus noticed the oddly shaped pots we were each carrying. "What's all this?"

"Beauty insisted," Menolly replied, leaning into her fire lizard's neck caress.

Yanus was, at first, confused. But, then, his eyes grew positively enormous, his gaze flicking dizzily back and forth between his daughter's beaming smile and the pot she carried!

"By the Egg of Faranth!" he hissed, trembling as Menolly placed her pot in his outstretched hands. "Are you serious?!"

"And this one is for you," I spoke, handing my pot to the equally incredulous Mavi.

"But… but…" the Lady Holder stuttered, wide-eyed with shock and awe.

"They respond to the care that you give them," Menolly told them, giving Beauty's neck ridge a scratch, the rest of her fair swirling about us. "Dana's Goldie is a good example."

The two leaders of Half-Circle turned my way.

"Goldie here was a gift," I explained, scratching my own fire lizard's eye ridge. "A reward for helping her mother defend the clutch against an attack of marauding wherries."

"Do you know what color they will be?" Yanus breathlessly asked, glancing down at the pot in his trembling hands.

Menolly shook her head. "Unlike dragons, it's nearly impossible to tell what color will hatch from a fire lizard egg. But Beauty made certain we had the two largest eggs from her recent clutch."

"'Nolly, I…"

Smiling kindly, Menolly reached up and kissed Yanus' sun-baked cheek. "Raise them well, and they will honor you with a lifetime of devoted love and companionship."

Stifling a sob, Yanus handed his pot to his son, Alemi, before wrapping his youngest child up in a bone-crushing hug. "I do not deserve such a jewel as you, precious child!"

"Well, I'm afraid you're stuck with me, Papa," Menolly giggled, planting another kiss on his tear-stained cheek.

"Stubborn," Yanus chuckled, pulling back to look at his child.

"Wonder who I got that from?" she responded, grinning ear-to-ear.

Yanus proved true to his stubborn nature, returning to the deck of his ship and fishing the deep as soon as he could. His one concession to that imperative was remaining land-bound until his bronze fire lizard, Flotsam, finally hatched and grew enough to ride on the Sea Holder's shoulder.

Whenever he was on the water, Yanus worked his crew hard, though even the roughest of his men noticed a tiny gentling of his nature now that the Sea Holder had his own fire lizard companion.

The residents of Half-Circle noticed a similar gentling of spirit once Mavi's queen fire lizard, Pearl, hatched. That change of nature slowly made its way through the entire hold, bringing with it the unexpected benefit of increasing the Hold's quantity and quality of output, both from fishing and their woodcrafting. Half-Circle continued to tithe loyally and well to Benden Weyr, but they also did their best to assist other Weyrs, including the dragon-riding healers of Robinton Cove!

What truly surprised everyone was when Alemi left Paradise River to become the resident dolphineer at Robinton Cove, learning all he could from Master Readis. He even spent time in the medical lectures and training sessions at the hospital! Many at the hospital as well as the citizens of Half-Circle and Paradise River found themselves wondering why he would do all those things. Turns out he had a good reason!

"I felt so helpless out there," Alemi explained when I finally got around to asking. "Thank the Egg your dolphins were there that day, Dana. They helped save my father's life." Grinning as he laid a gentle hand on my shoulder, he added, "So did you. I don't ever want to feel that helpless again. That's why I came here… to Robinton Cove… to learn all I can about the dolphins… and to expand my healing knowledge."

"To what end?" I asked, absently giving Tarnaa's eye ridge a scratch while Goldie softly trilled in my ear. "I sense a bigger goal in the wind."

Alemi nodded. "Eventually, I want to train other fisherfolk so that every sailing vessel has at least one highly trained healer on board. That way, no one else will have to endure the helplessness I felt, and lives will be saved in the process."

"A lofty goal, my fishing friend," I remarked, thumping him soundly on the shoulder. "And a worthwhile one to pursue, wouldn't you agree, Ciri?"

The journeywoman healer, the same Benden Hold girl who'd asked me to teach her what I knew that day back at the Healer Hall, smiled, laying her hand on Alemi's other shoulder.

"Aye, that I do!" she spoke, smiling at her new fiancé. "And now, Master, I believe you have an instructional session on hyperbaric treatment for nitrogen narcosis… something of particular interest to the fisherfolk who are rediscovering scuba diving?"

"Indeed I do," I chuckled, nodding as I turned and headed back to the hospital, Alemi and Ciri following close behind. "Let's not forget, however, that hyperbaric therapy can also be used to help speed wound recovery. It would be interesting to see how Threadscore would react to this treatment method."

Someone once said, "Knowledge gained, if not shared, is knowledge wasted." Though our meetings had been both unexpected yet all too brief, Master Robinton, possessed of incredibly keen insight and wisdom, had bestowed on me the priceless and irreplaceable gifts that were the lands that are now known as Robinton Cove. The teaching hospital was finally complete. The staff necessary to keep it running was at last in place. And the cadre of dragon-riding healers that flew from here continued to grow and flourish. All I had to do now was honor the promise I had made to the Masterharper… to pass on the knowledge I possessed to the people of Pern. Seems like now was a good time to start!


End file.
